Monday, February 14, 2011

Valentines Dinner at The Establishment

Love month once again. No matter how bad the traffic gets during this Hallmark created occasion, deep down inside, all of us want to be doing something special on this day =) I guess being out on V-day reiterates in our consciousness that we are either in-love and or have a love-life =)

Well for whatever reason we are celebrating heart's day, one thing is in common...we celebrate with food!

For this year, we set our Valentines dinner on the weekend prior to Valentines, to beat the traffic on the 14Th, and we prefer to have night outs on weekends to be more relaxed. We recently discovered this new website featuring dining and other relaxation promos and got their 4-course dinner set at The Crystal Room of The Establishment.

It was our first time to dine at the Establishment, we were delighted by the ambiance, service and formality of the place...makes a perfect setting for formal or intimate dinners. However, the food did not fair as great as the place.

I think this was the best part of the meal. I love the contrasting textures of the cheeses and the sweet tangy salad.

Pumpkin Cappuccino

The soup was lighter than I expected it to be...was served nicely warm...tasty.

His Main Course: Pan Seared US Beef Tenderloin with Lychee Truffle Sauce

He was a bit disappointed by the portion of his entree, though the beef was nicely cooked, he didn't like the Lychee truffle sauce.

My Main Course: Hainanesse Salmon withTeriyaki Rice

The Salmon with ginger sauce was nicely cooked and flavorful, I just didn't feel the rice complimented the Salmon. I would have liked it better if they made the rice like the traditional Hainasse style, which would make the entire interpretation of the dish more elegant and refined in flavors. It tasted good, but it just struck me as rice box-ish kinda rice, sorry.

Pistachio de Lupe

The house specialty dessert. Crepes, layered with pistachios and cream...it was nice =)

Over all, we still found the experience very enjoyable. The service and ambiance was indeed wonderful. We were told that for the month of February, the guest chef is Chef Hum Uyde Baron. I have tried a private dinner by Chef Him , and was delighted by the experience, that is why I wanted to know if by being guest Chef at the Establishment, did they mean Chef Him is actually there to over-see the kitchen and prepare the courses? If so, I am truly disappointed. Or, by being guest Chef, he just designedd the dinner? Perhaps the failure could be by the execution of the in-house chef's of the establishment. I wasn't able to investigate that night..hehehe nevertheless....it was a beautiful Valentines dinner because of the person I am with =)